Fan construction



.3. 13, 1925. 1,523,094 c. J. WINKLER ET AL I FAN CONSTRUCTION Filed July 15, 1921 BY Cam I M/INKLEE,

L was SCHW/ 725E,

Patented Jan. 13, 1925,

burrs CARL J'. WINKLER AND LOUIS SGI-IWITZER. F INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, ASSIG-NORS TO AUTOMOTIVE PAR-TS COMPANY, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, A CORPORATION.

To all whom it'may concern:

Be it known that we, CARL J. WVINKLEP.

"and LOUIS ScHwrrznR, respectively citizens of the United States and residents of Indianapolis, county of Marion, and State of Indiana, have invented a certain new and p 1 usefulFan Construction; and we do hereby struct a fan hub and spindle, or shaft, as

the'ca'se may be, whereby it may be more cheaply and simply manufactured than such I vented.

devices of the same strength and wearing ability, the supported rotating member may be easily and accurately balanced, the bearing surfaces may be properly lubricated from an oil reservoir and by 011 grooves wholly in the spindle, and leakage around the spindle'will be largely or wholly pre This is accomplished by constructing a substantially larger spindle or shaft than is usually the case, providing a large bearing surface, and eliminating the use of the usual ball or roller bearings, packing rings, and other" structural elements. The construction is also such that the usual end thrust bearings may be eliminated, in view of. the large end bearing surfaces of the spindle or shaft, and the fastening means of "the bearing assemblv and spindle inside the I 40" hub are entirely eliminate j' A further feature of the invention resides in the provision of a spiral peripheral recess or conduitformed in the spindle and having one end extending into one of the thrust bearing surfaces so as to provide acut out scoop portion, sald recess extending about the *periph'eral bearing surfaces toward v the other end and communicating with the lubri cant chamber. The cut-out scoop portion extending into one of the thrust bearingsur ings and the following FAN CONSTRUCTION.

Application filed July 15, 1921. Serial No. 485,043. if"

lubricate the bearing surfaces and prevent leaking may be eliminated. This permits of an extremely simple device consisting in only two parts, namely, the spindle and the hub, which provide the necessary lubricating means, bearing surfaces, locking means, etc, while doing away with the usual number of parts commonly used in such structures for preventing leakage of lubricant and providing proper bearing surfaces and the like.

The full nature of the invention will be understood from the accompanying draw 7 description and claims.

In the drawings, F 1 is a central verti cal section through the hub portion of a 7 fan. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the spindle.

Fig. 3 is an end View of Fig. 2.

In the drawings there is shown a fan construction havin a substantially cylindrical spindle 10 lntegral with and supported upon the end of the stud 11. The stud 11 is adapted to be screwed into the forward portion of the internal combustion engine upon which the fan is mounted and securely locked therein against movement in the usual manner. Surrounding the spindle 10 and free to revolve thereon, there is a hub 12 which is slidable as a unit onto the spindle from the rear, and upon which hub is the belt pulley l3, in this case made integral therewith. The hub portion 12 is provided with the usual flange 14 at the front end thereof, to which the fan spider 15 is rigidly secured by'the bolts 16 for carrying thefan blades 17. The rear endof the hub 12 has an inwardly projecting flange 18 to bear against the rear end of the spindle the flange 18 fits fairly closelyaroundthe stud 11.

-.The spindle 10 is of comparatively large diameter so as to provide an extensive bearing surface which might be said to be substantially equal to the bearing surfaces of the crank shaft, and is hollow in the center so as to extend in all directions.

.the end thrust-bearing at. the rear.

to form the lubricant chamber 19. Said lubricant chamber is open at the front and closed at the rear, said front opening being closed by the solid center of the fan spider rality of lubricating passages 22 which are disposed radially thereof at varying angles to each other, from the center of the spindle This arrangement is such that regardless of the positioning of the spindle in mounting it in position, the lubricant carried in the chamber 19 will seep inbetween the bearing surfaces by gravity through the passages" which extend downwardly. The lubricant =contained in the chamber passes downwardly'by gravity through the passages 22 between the bearing surfaces at the lower side thereof, the lower side having a. clear- 'ance between the twosurfaces due to the weight of the hub and the downward pull of the fan belt. The rapid rotation of the hub about the spindle carries the lubricant about the surface thereof, and'necessitates some.

means for returning the excess lubricant to the chamber and prevent its leakagelabout This means is provided by forming the periph- V eral recess23'about the bearing surface of the spindle extending from end to end, so

that the edge of the recess scrapes along the inner surface of the hub during'the ro tationjthereof, gathering up all en'cess lubricant and carrying it forward to be returned to the chamber eitherat the end of recess 24, or through the annular groove27 and; passage way 20 ad acent thereto. The.

peripheral recess 23' forms or is provided at'its rear end with a cutout scoop portion 25 adapted to gather up and carry forward any lubricant which may seep into the rear escapingat the rear ofthe spindle, so that theusualpacking may be eliminated.- There would only,be suflicient lubricant at this. pointnto lubricate thevrearT thrust; bearing surfaces, and'thebalance will be picked up and carried forward to the forward thrust bearing, or the lubricant chamber 19. There is an annular groove 27 of substantially larger diameter than the groove 26 positioned about the periphery of the forward end of said spindle, registering with the opening and the plug 21v in, the hub, and

communicating with the. passagefltl into the chamber, whereby said chamber may be filled with lubricant from the exterior upon removal of said plug. It is obvious with respecttoxthe:peripheral recess 23 that it may be placed either about the periphery of the spindle or about the inner bearing surface of the hub, and function in the same manner, but we prefer to place :it in the pindle so that thehubmay' have a smooth drilled-hole within it.i..

By this arrangement, wecan avoid all lubricating chambers in the rotatable member, and make thehub of Ia'single'casting with no coredchambers other than "the one for the spindle itself. By thus'eliminating all suchchambers in the hub, fwe" can balance the rotatable memberea-si'ly, accurately, quickly and cheaply, as well as'being able to cast it in the first place more cheaply and with less labors 1 The invention claimed is: i 1

1. In a fan construction, a spindle having spaced thrust -bearing surfaces; the said spindle having a lubricant chamber opening out at oneiendof the spindle, a hub rotatableon said spindleya plate secured to said hub enclosing and engaging one 'of said thrust bearing surfaces,- a spiral "Jperipheral recessextendinglabout'the outer' surface of said spindle communicating at one end with one of said thrust bearingsurfaces sofas to provide a scoop portion for gathering and conveying the. lubricant therefrom to the other end of the spindle for returning it to said chamben-saidrecess beingalso adapted to. gather excesstlubricant from: about the periphery of the spindle for returning it to said chamber; and a fplu'ralityuof radial openings formed in said spindleestablishing communication between said chamber and the peripheral bearing. surface.

2. In a fan construction, a spindle? an enlarged portion forming part of said spindle and providing a shoulder at thejuncture of the largerand smaller portion thereof for providmg anmner thrust bearing surface,

the enlarged portion of the spindle being thrust hearing at the flange 18; This pe V ripheral recess 23, in connection with the annular groove 26 positioned near the rear ofthe spindle, prevents any of the lubricant portion-adjacent the open end of said-cha n ber forming "an outeivthrust bearing surface; a hub rot at'ablyfcarried .bylsaid enlarged portion, and an inwar dlyextending flange formed. on said hub abutting said ,innerthrustibearing surface, aplate; secured to the outer end of the hub for engaging the outer thrust bearing surface and covering the open end of said chamber, a spiral peripheral recess formed in the exterior sur face of said enlarged bearing portion and constituting a continuous scraper for carrying excess lubricant about said surface and discharging it into said chamber, and a pluralit of openings formed in said enlarged (bearing portion for establishing c0mmunication between said chamber and perlpheral 10 bearing surface.

In witness whereof, We have hereunto affixed our signatures.

CARL J. WINKLER. LOUIS SCHWITZER. 

